PC parts advice required.

Freebyman

Will do the test, it is definitely the PSU fan making the noise. I know I shouldnt but a quick tap and it stops! But comes back when power up again.

Figment

The majority of PSU fans are replaceable.

dodgydl

Figment wrote: »

The majority of PSU fans are replaceable.

Yep most fans on PSU's are replaceable. If you are handy with solder \ gun and and are pretty competent do it yourself. It will be cheaper to just buy a fan

There are plenty of simple guides on the internet that you can reference to if you need to

http://www.instructables.com/id/Computer-Power-Supply-Fan-Replacement/

bengalknights

For PSU i would always recommend either Coolermaaster,corsair or Antec

Freebyman

Ok, strange but I ran the WD extended test and nothing is wrong with the hard drive?????

Also Ive discovered that the molex connectors are a bit wobbly (I checked all the leads for a tight fit), so definitely a new PSU I think. But thanks for the idea about replacing the fan, I never knew you could do that.

Unfortunately my budget doesnt run to any of the brands you mentioned, I just hope to pick the right budget one.

paddyrg

Maybe the HDD is fine and just needs a good cleanout and defrag to reduce skipping. Also, whilst you're in there, have you got enough RAM? It could be using the HDD as a pagefile/virtual RAM which will sound similar - just a thought, others here may have better ones!

Freebyman

Well I have 4GB of ram so that shouldnt be a problem? And I defrag every week and use ccleaner. Ive also left the side panel of the pc for the past few days and cleaned it out. Sounds more like the PSU now.

almillar

Don't bother with defragging if you're on Windows 7 BTW, you're just wearing out your hard drive if you do. Hopefully by now you've got everything backed up, and will continue to do so. With the HDD, if you were just hearing lots of quiet clicking that sounds normal, the computer could have just been busy doing something random (like AV), but if it was a louder scraping noise, or you got random freezes while the computer was trying to access data, that's a failure creeping up on you, whether the software says so or not.
PSU - do not scrimp here. Haven't you learnt? If it's just the fan, see if you can see what size it is and whether you can replace it - there are some high voltage parts in a PSU so be careful, they'll have power in them even when unplugged.
Check the rating of the PSU too, but if it's a cheapo, it doesn't mean much, I'd rather have a 400W Antec than a 700W no name.

paddyrg

Freebyman wrote: »

Well I have 4GB of ram so that shouldnt be a problem? And I defrag every week and use ccleaner. Ive also left the side panel of the pc for the past few days and cleaned it out. Sounds more like the PSU now.

Great - just thought it was worth checking ;-)

Freebyman

almillar wrote: »

Don't bother with defragging if you're on Windows 7 BTW, you're just wearing out your hard drive if you do. Hopefully by now you've got everything backed up, and will continue to do so. With the HDD, if you were just hearing lots of quiet clicking that sounds normal, the computer could have just been busy doing something random (like AV), but if it was a louder scraping noise, or you got random freezes while the computer was trying to access data, that's a failure creeping up on you, whether the software says so or not.
PSU - do not scrimp here. Haven't you learnt? If it's just the fan, see if you can see what size it is and whether you can replace it - there are some high voltage parts in a PSU so be careful, they'll have power in them even when unplugged.
Check the rating of the PSU too, but if it's a cheapo, it doesn't mean much, I'd rather have a 400W Antec than a 700W no name.

Im currently on Win XP, so obviously I defrag often. Doesnt seem to be the HDD now so the PSU it is. Not feeling confident enough with the voltage thing etc, so I will just buy new and try to get a good make. Just hope it lasts until I can afford one!